Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Tuesday announced it is limiting the allotted time to file an accessibility violation complaint regarding multifamily housing design and construction under the Fair Housing Act.
- The new guidance reclassifies FHA design and construction accessibility violations as discrete acts rather than continuing violations and places a statute of limitations on administrative complaints that ends within one year of a building’s initial certificate of occupancy.
- The National Association of Home Builders says the change provides more clarity for housing developers, while the National Fair Housing Alliance argues it reduces the rights of people with disabilities.
Dive Insight:
Since taking office, the Trump administration has pledged to cut federal regulations, including around housing construction.
The FHA change rescinds a 2013 update to the guidance, according to HUD.
The agency said the previous guidance imposed more than $110 million in repair costs on builders over the past five years.
“The change provides greater certainty for builders, developers and subsequent property owners by establishing a clear limitations period and limiting liability for owners who were not involved in the original design or construction of a property,” NAHB said in a press release.
NHFA said disability-related complaints make up more than half of all housing discrimination cases.
“Plenty of law-abiding housing providers build and operate accessible and affordable units every year,” NFHA Executive Vice President Nikitra Bailey said in a news release. “All this does is provide a pass to the bad actors who decided not to follow the law and locked people with disabilities out of housing in the process.”
The Trump administration’s handling of fair housing laws has drawn scrutiny over the past year, with whistleblowers in its Office of Fair Housing alleging large staff cuts and gag orders are hampering services and lawsuits from fair housing advocacy groups over the administration’s funding overhauls.
